


Repairing A Ruined Friendship

by Rubymoon_Snape



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Gen, Pre-Canon, one sided crush
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-13
Updated: 2021-03-20
Packaged: 2021-03-21 07:42:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,434
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30018432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rubymoon_Snape/pseuds/Rubymoon_Snape
Summary: After a disastrous fifth year, Lily comes home and has to explain to her mother why Severus won't be coming over. The conversation brings up important details that spur Lily into action.
Relationships: Lily Evans Potter & Severus Snape
Comments: 7
Kudos: 6





	1. Lily

**Author's Note:**

> Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
> 
> Author Note: This is a one sided Severus/Lily that turns into the two just being friends.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lily and her mother have a much needed conversation.

"Lily"

Lily Evans grabbed her trunk and dragged it over to the nearest trolley, heaving it onto the little cart. Normally, she would have had help, but her best friend was no longer the boy she knew growing up. It made her sad, but she also knew that he might have dragged her into the dark arts and other areas of black magic. She gripped the trolley handle tighter as she thought of Severus. Shaking her head as if to rid herself of the thoughts, she pushed the trolley through the barrier, appearing in King's Cross Station. She scanned the crowd of gathered parents, looking for her mother as her father was probably at work. Her mom was easy to spot because she had the same fiery red hair Lily had.

"Hi Mum," Lily greeted her mother with a hug.

Her mother returned the hug. "Hi, sweetheart." It was then that the older redhead noticed a raven-haired teen dressed in jeans and a t-shirt (both looked rather worn) who was trying to _not_ attract their attention. She called out to him. "Hello, Severus. I look forward to seeing you later on."

Severus looked slightly scared and chanced a glance at Lily, who looked at him with a mix of sadness and contempt. Without confirming or denying Mrs. Evans's assumption, the sixteen-year-old slunk off.

Noticing her mother's confused look at Severus's reaction, Lily whispered, "I'll explain once we get home, Mum."

Nodding, mother and daughter loaded her trunk into the boot of the auto. The drive home was silent. Lily used that time to figure out how much exactly to tell her mother. She knew she wouldn't understand the rivalry between Gryffindor and Slytherin and between Severus and the Marauders and how those rivalries put a strain on her friendship with Severus. 'I guess I'll just start at the beginning and explain as I go,' Lily thought as her mother pulled into the driveway.

The two redheads carried the trunk into their home, leaving it at the foot of the stairs where it was leaning against the first step. They walked into the living room and sat down on the love seat. "Now, what's going on? Why was Severus acting so strangely?"

"He and I had a fight."

"You two have had fights before so that makes me think there's more to it than a simple fight. Am I right?"

"Yes, Mum. For you to understand, I have to explain some things. At my school, there are four houses; Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, Slytherin, and Gryffindor. The last two have an intense rivalry that makes sport fans seem tame by comparison. Severus and I were sorted into rival houses. Severus was picked on by his housemates for being friends with a muggleborn, which is a term for a witch or wizard with non-magical parents. Some people believe muggleborns are inferior to purebloods, witches and wizards with magical parents. Witches and wizards with one magical parent and one non-magical parent, like Severus, are called half-bloods and sometimes are thought of as inferior to purebloods as well. Some of my housemates pick on Severus because of his financial situation, so that adds another point of tension.

"A group of four Gryffindor boys seem to have made it their personal mission to make Severus miserable. They play what they call pranks, but they actually are mean-spirited tricks. They don't seem to get in much trouble for the tricks and the trouble they _do_ get in is very light or gets reduced or negated by the headmaster. No matter what I do, they don't stop, and Severus can't avoid them either."

"So far, I haven't heard anything that is Severus's fault."

"A few weeks ago, the Gryffindor boys played another trick that resulted in him being hung upside down by a spell he created and choking on soap suds by a different spell. I tried to come to his rescue, but he-he insulted me. He called me a mudblood, which is a really foul name for muggleborn; it literally means dirty blood. I cut ties with him after that. He tried to apologize that night, but I wouldn't accept it. I was and am afraid of the possibility of being dragged down into the dark arts, which is an area of magic that is malicious and destructive."

"Severus uses these dark arts?"

"I know the Slytherins do," Lily said.

"Have you _seen_ them use them?"

"No, but everyone knows it."

"I'm still waiting to hear what wrong Severus committed."

"He insulted me using that ugly word."

"But he realized his mistake, swallowed his pride, and apologized. People make mistakes all the time, but it's the people who learn from the those mistakes that grow inside."

"He calls every other muggleborn that word, so why would I be any different?"

"Think about that. Why would a guy treat a girl better than everyone else _including_ himself?"

Lily sat and thought about what her mother said. 'Sev had always been there for me, even though he was ridiculed for being friends with a muggleborn. Why would he do that? Was it simply us being best friends? But best friends wouldn't insult each other...would they?'

Just then her mother's words came to her mind. _People makes mistakes all the time, but it's the people who learn from those mistakes that grow inside....Why would a guy treat a girl better than everyone else_ including _himself?_

'Well, he was under a huge amount of stress thanks to Potter and Black. He was _definitely_ embarrassed; maybe he wasn't himself. As for him treating me better than everyone else, why would he do that? Friends don't treat one of their friends better than the others, and best friends don't treat each other better than themselves, so the only reason Sev might put me ahead of himself would be...could Sev be in love with me?'

The dawning realization was so evident on Lily's face that her mom asked, "Would you like to go write a letter?"

TBC


	2. Severus and the Owl

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Severus reminisces about the previous school year and receives a mysterious owl.

"Severus and the Owl"

Severus quietly entered his parents' house on Spinner's End, praying his father wasn't home. He felt certain that he wouldn't live through another beating. He certainly wouldn't be able to escape to the Evans's anymore. Fortunately, his father wasn't home. He carried his trunk up to his room and left it in the middle of his room. He closed his door and sat on his bed with his head in his hands. He couldn't believe he'd driven away his only friend. Not only that, but she didn't accept his apology. Didn't she realize how hard it was for him to do that? 'Maybe I went too far? No, I _know_ I went too far. I don't blame her for not accepting my apology. I wouldn't blame her if she never spoke to me again.

_Tap. Tap._

A tapping sound shook Severus from his thoughts. He looked up, and, to his surprise, there was an owl at his window. Who would be owling him? He didn't receive letters _ever,_ unless you counted his Hogwarts letter. However, summer just started, so it wasn't time for that, and it hadn't been long enough for it to be his OWLs results. He stood up, walked over to his window, and opened it. The owl flew in and dropped the letter on the teen's bed before leaving through the same window it entered.

Severus closed the window and stared at the mysterious letter. It was in a white Muggle envelope instead of being a rolled piece of parchment. The letter had landed flap side down, giving him an unobstructed view of the intended receipient's name. It said 'Sev.'

Severus's heart jumped into his throat. Only one person called him that plus it was a _Muggle_ envelope. It _had_ to be from Lily, but she was angry at him, so she wouldn't write to him, let alone call him 'Sev.' Against his better judgement, he opened the letter, his shaking hands making it difficult. He pulled out a piece of loose leaf notebook paper. He unfolded it and saw the familiar handwriting. The ink was oddly smudged in random places by little wet splotches that looked suspiciously like tears. It read:

_Sev,_

_I am so sorry. I shouldn't have thrown away six years of friendship over an embarrassing situation and a moment of anger/pride. If you'll take me back, I would love to be your friend again. If this is agreeable to you, come over tomorrow around noon. We'll have lunch and talk things out._

_Hopefully still friends,_  
_Lily_

TBC


End file.
